President Bush will send as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico to help stop the flood of illegal immigrant crossings.

Bush doesn't want to send the 11 million undocumented immigrants already here back to their home countries.

"It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people," Bush said.

But he doesn't want more to come.

In an effort to beef up border security, the President will deploy National Guard forces along the Mexican border for two years.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is getting ready.

"We have over half of the border and there's 6,000 troops that are going to be augmented in. So, quick math will tell you that half of them will come Texas way," Perry said.
Patrolling the border is a good first step, immigration attorney Thomas Esparza said.

He's concerned how immigration reform will affect those already here.

"I hope the Congress will follow through building not only the fences and patrolling the border but also taking care of the 11 million people who are here in the U.S.," Esparza said.

As for those who want to come, they'll face double-duty now on the border: National Guard troops and border patrol.

Texas Guard Capt. Wayne Peck is in charge of running the operations center for the state.

"We're in the planning phase. All of the operations planners, logistics planners, personnel planners are all with our general right now planning the operations," Peck said.

Guard troops based in the Lone Star State are expected to provide the border patrol with the majority of intelligence and surveillance support, he said. They won't make arrests; that's left to border patrol.

"I think it's a good thing. I think there's a lot we can offer them," Peck said.

Immigrant rights' groups across the county are questioning the militarization of the border. They say it number of lives lost would rise among migrants trying to cross; 500 died last year.

For now, the guard is preparing for deployment along the border. The White House says troops will rotate in and out during two-week and three-week missions. It's possible that as many as 156,000 guard troops could serve on the border.

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